Greg Norman said on Sunday that his remarkable revival at the British Open will not mean that he will be making a return to regular play on the circuit.

"No. Quite honestly, no," Norman shot back when asked if his exploits at Royal Birkdale had given him the taste for more action back in the golfing world.

"It still doesn't fire me up to go out there. I'm going to play the next two weeks, the Senior British Open and the Senior US Open and that's it.

"I don't plan on playing any more golf after that for a while. I have a lot of other work to do."

The 53-year-old Australian had history in his sights when he set off in the final round at Royal Birkdale with a two stroke lead over eventual winner Padraig Harrington.

Had he held on to win, he would have eclipsed the 121-year-old record of oldest winner set by "Old" Tom Morris of St Andrews. He would also have become the oldest ever winner of a major

Instead, Norman bogeyed the first three holes and despite scrambling back into a share of the lead by the turn, he never looked truly comfortable as he struggled to a disappointing 77 that left him tied for third place.

"I was nervous walking to the first tee, but it was a good nervous," he said.

"I hit a very good tee shot off the first hole, hit a good second shot on the first hole.

"You need to get off to a good, solid, rhythmical start. I didn't, and it's pretty hard if you haven't played a lot of golf to really regroup and get yourself back going again. I failed in that regard."

While admitting to be being disappointed, Norman said that he felt he could walk away with his head held high and he repeated his belief that his recent marriage to tennis legend Chris Evert had given him peace of mind and balance in his life.

Norman also said that Sunday's reverse — the seventh time in his career that he had led a major tournament at the start of the final round but failed to win — would not linger long at the back of his mind.

Asked how it stood alongside his previous failures, Norman said: "Probably not as high as some of the other ones."

"Quite honestly, I'm sure I surprised a lot of people."

As for the future, Norman said that he was taking great pleasure from his role as captain of the rest of the world International Team for the Presidents Cup which will be held in San Francisco next year.

"It's a new task for me. I've never been in that position before. I look forward to the camaraderie. I look forward to putting a team together."

AFP

RSS
Digg
de.li.cious
facebook